We love sharing stories of the women who, as part of a skills-training program, sew together Punjammies®. The Sudara Stories series highlights a few of these strong, amazing women. Today, we are honored to introduce Yagi.
Yagi’s Story of Hope and Freedom
Yagi never finished school beyond the 9th grade because her family could not afford the required fees. When she married and started a family of her own, she dreamed of being able to see her children graduate and giving them the life that she never had. Her husband struggled to find and keep a stable job, though. There were many months when there was not enough money to buy food and send their children to the local school.
Yagi tells us that those months were the most depressing times for her. She felt discouraged by her own lack of education and skills to get a job. She told us that there were many nights she considered becoming a commercial sex worker. Like many women in her neighborhood, she didn’t know where else to turn and saw the sex trade as the only way to help provide for her family.
One night, though, she thought about the women she knew who were tailors. She didn’t know how to sew but recently heard about a local skills-training program that was teaching women how to sew. She went to one of Sudara’s partner sewing centers the next day and was able to enroll in one of the training programs.
Yagi graduated earlier this year and runs a small tailoring shop from her home. She recently called the centers to tell us how thankful she was for all of the training and support she received during her time with us. Most of all, though, she told us that she is thankful that she can now contribute to her family income and send her children to school.
Thank you for continuing to invest in and empower women like Yagi to create a new life for herself and her family. You can read more Sudara Stories here. And, find the Punjammies® we named in honor and celebration of Yagi here.